BY CHRISTINE REDMAN-WALDEYER
Connectedness, Independence & Growth
Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our deeds.
– Novelist Miguel de Cervantes
We have to laugh. Because laughter, we already know, is the first evidence of freedom.
– Poet Rosario Castellanos
Jackie Vuich-Leckie recalled when her daughter, Ohia, was diagnosed with 22q (also referred to as Velocardiofacial syndrome, VCFS, and/or DiGeorge syndrome) when she was just 17 months old. Her name, Hawaiian, is known for its beautiful red flowers and resiliency. “It was the type of thing that if you counted ten fingers and ten toes,” that early detection was missed, said Jackie. 22q is a not so rare chromosome syndrome, second to Down’s syndrome in which this tiny missing portion of chromosome 22 can affect every system in the human body.
A trip in July 2010 to Salt Lake City, to attend the annual VCFS Conference and see Yellowstone National Park, changed the course of the family. “We learned we could get the medical help we needed here in the United States after several battles with her health,” recalled Jackie. It was soon after that trip the family left Maui, Hawaii and took up residence in Salt Lake City, Utah, not far from Camp Kostopulos, a camp dedicated to improving the lives of those with disabilities.
“Camp K gives my daughter a chance to be independent without parents,” said Jackie. Ohia began last summer with horseback riding. “She really relates to horses – she likes to groom horses, talk to them.”
The popular camp, which dates to 1967 and is critical to many lives, faces limitations on both bed and activity space. According to Executive Director of Camp K, Mircea Divricean, “For Summer Camp 2015, we had more than 200 people on the waiting list. Some of our camps filled up within the first hour that registration was open. To erase the waiting list, we need to expand bed and activity space. That includes expanding the lodge, building pavilion and bathrooms, front parking, cabin, and accessible vehicles.”
For many campers, the organization has been more than a recreational facility. It has changed lives. Ben McKenna has spina bifida and recently had a kidney transplant. He said, “I used to have a lot of medical stuff and I’d come here and I would just forget all my issues and all the problems I used to have. It gives me a sense of security that I am not the only one out there who is different. Nobody here judges.”
Tabetha Espenshied has neurofibromatosis. She said that her week at Camp K “was one of the best and most memorable in my life. I was surrounded by other kids who were just like me and the counselors treated me like a kid and not a sick kid.”
Ami Trickey’s son has chronic lung issues, requiring the continual use of oxygen. She told us, “This camp was the perfect place because they made us feel right at home. They are able to do more things than I thought possible, and this camp has opened my eyes to what he is capable of doing without so much help from me all the time.”
It is people like recording artist, Scott Helmer, impacted by his own experience at Camp K, who want to raise money to knock that waiting list down. On December 1, 2015, Scott plans on breaking the Guinness World Records title for most live concerts in 24 hours, a date that coincides with Giving Tuesday. All of the money will be used exclusively by Camp K to improve facilities. Scott, first visited the camp in 2014 and was touched by the people he met, saying, “Camp K is an amazing place.” It is his hope “the little things I’m doing here raises awareness.”
Scott who has co-written and recorded with his brother, Rich, grew up in Elgin, just outside of Chicago. He became passionate about music at the young age of five when his brother encouraged his parents to give him a set of drums. He remembers spending a lot of cold winters looking outside his picture window with music for companionship. In his twenties he gave up music to enter the corporate world and found himself at a crossroads when he lost his business and ultimately his family. Scott narrates his story:
“When I was at my lowest point in 2008, in my car with a gun in my mouth, a second away from taking my own life, God put the idea into my head that I could use my poor choices and terrible circumstances to help others. I immediately got ‘hope,’ put the gun down, decided not to give up and continued moving forward.
Fast forward to now having lost everything and spending my nights listening to talk radio, knowing that I wanted to use my true love of music to help others, the story came on Coast to Coast AM about Wounded Warrior Project and I again received a glimmer of ‘hope,’ as I now knew exactly how I would use my gifts to give back. From there, I began the process of building a concert tour for charity in 2012.
Now fast forward to May of 2014, pulling into Camp K after the first couple of concerts on my tour were duds. The initial participants didn’t really take advantage of the opportunity and didn’t put in any effort to make them successful, even though they were benefiting ‘their’ causes. As I drove into Salt Lake City I thought Camp K’s event would be the same and I was thinking about throwing in the towel on my entire tour.
Much to my surprise, Camp K’s event was completely different. They put in so much effort to make it successful and truly valued my being there and what I was doing. In addition, I got see firsthand the amazing work they do for people with special needs and disabilities, and I was hooked; it was truly amazing. Camp K once again gave me ‘hope’ to keep going and to not give up. I think they also give the campers that attend their programs the same ray of ‘hope.’”
Mircea Divricean said he first met Scott in 2014 “when he accepted our application to be a part of his “Support Your Cause” tour. My first impression of him was that was he was very genuine and easy going. After the concert, we had dinner at Ruth’s diner, and we immediately built respect for each other. In 2015, Scott returned to Camp K for another concert in May. After the concert, he came to my home. We sat at the kitchen counter, and started talking about his plans to take his tour to a new level. Because Scott was so impressed with Camp K’s mission, facilities, staff, and participants, he decided to support Camp K, and put more passion and support toward our programs. He told me that he has performed more than 1,000 concerts around the country during his tour, and has helped many charities and supported a wide variety missions. We are very fortunate that Camp K has made such a huge impact on him, and that he has chosen to align his current efforts with us.”
Mircea added that, “at this point, we are true friends. We speak on the phone every day as we support each other to accomplish the Guinness World Records Title attempt for most live concerts. I know that he genuinely loves Camp K and our programs, and I am incredibly grateful for his support.”
Mircea related that the camp sits on 25 acres of property. Facilities include a lodge with office space, commercial kitchen and dining hall, six cabins, three yurts, swimming pool, bath house, infirmary, horse corral and stables, indoor equestrian center with stables and arena, high ropes course, low ropes course, zip line, sport court, activities field, stocked fishing pond, paved patio and fire-pit area, and multiple trails.
There are 120 beds, and expanding overnight stays are critical to campers gaining their independency.\
Natalie Jensen, mother to Celina Jensen, 16, who has cerebral palsy, said of the camp that it has “increased her confidence that she can do things— the take away from the camp experience is that she can contribute to her society.”
For Celina, she has found a place where she belongs. She has made friends with peers, the counselors and staff. She had been nervous, afraid— life is harder in a wheelchair, said Natalie. “Her world is very small; she worries about everything. You keep things little if you are not exposed to a large community,” said Natalie.
Celina, now also an Ambassador for Camp K, spoke last May. “She has something to say and it matters,” said her mother. Celina added that, “If Camp K didn’t exist, I would be in a very depressing place.
Camp K gave me my life back, because I used to worry a lot. You can see my genuine personality at Camp K. When I am at Camp K, I don’t feel like I am in a wheelchair!” “Camp K provides children, both with and without disabilities, an opportunity to be independent, outside of the safe ecosystem created by their parents or guardians. For some of them, this is the first time that they have spent time away from their families – especially during our overnight camp opportunities,” said Mircea.
Mircea added that “by nature, we are all social. 95 percent of kids come back to Camp K year after year. For those who live with a disability, it is very powerful to meet others with similar challenges. They realize that they are not the only one with challenges. Camp K gives them hope, a sense of solidarity, knowing that they not alone. The relationships that they make at Camp K carry on over the years.”
What the camp does is allow campers to meet people with different abilities, from different places, different races, cultures, and socioeconomic levels. “There is something magical about a summer camp experience,” said Mircea. “It is an independent experience that shapes one’s character and life – a controlled, safe environment where children and youth are able to make their own decisions about simple things (what activity they want to do, how many s’mores they want to make, or what clothes they are going to wear), and about important things (who they will hang out with, who will be their friends).”
Mircea added that campers get to interact with people face-to-face and, at the same time, learn about themselves and others around a camp fire, under the stars, or sitting around a dining hall table. It is a place “where children find a world filled with possibilities unavailable to them in everyday life, they can go from fantasy to reality.” “It gives them a chance to practice being the best they can be. They experience a place designed to create happy memories and encourage self-expression. They have the opportunity to climb towers, ride horses, paddle canoes, and even experience the success of winning the “survivor” game! It stays with them forever. They will learn a full range of emotions and human experiences including homesickness, friendship, disagreements, team work, frustrations, jubilant success and more,” said Mircea.
He continued, “Current plans to expand Camp K include expanding and remodeling our lodge, building a new pavilion with restrooms, building a new cabin, paving additional parking areas, sealcoating roads and trails, and purchasing additional accessible vehicles. (See wish list sidebar for more details.) We estimate that this current plan will cost $1 million.
“Volunteerism and service are at the heart of our agency,” says Mircea. “Kostopulos Dream Foundation depends on the support of the community to maintain our high quality facility and current programs. Our volunteers serve in many ways – from spending time with campers to using their muscles and participating in numerous grounds projects. We could never do it without the help of our volunteers. As we increase the number of campers served, we will also need more volunteers.”
Scott Hemley’s tour will break Jay-Z’s Guinness World Record, originally set on November 18, 2006, for performing live in seven cities. Since then, Flaming Lips broke the record June 28, 2012 in eight cities, and Hunter Hayes May 9 to10 2014 in 10 cities.
Scott will perform in 12 cities, which include: November 30, San Diego, CA; Temecula, CA; December 1, Los Angeles, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Mesquite, NV; Ivins, UT; Cedar City, UT; Provo, UT; Tooele, UT; Logan, UT; Logan, UT; Ogden, UT and Salt Lake City, UT, closer to Camp K’s base.
For Mircea Divricean, Camp K has held a special place in his heart. Originally from Romania, he came to the United States while obtaining his degree in college as part of an exchange program. In 1988 he began his journey with Camp K as a counselor and held all of the various positions at the camp before coming to his current position as Executive Director. It changed his life. “It has been a humbling experience,” said Mircea. He met all sorts of people and admired their sincerity, honesty, and bravery to have meaningful lives.”
Mircea recalled his own journey to the U.S. just two days before 9/11. It is this journey that resonates with him and his relationship to the campers: “It changed me.” It was this trip across the ocean by himself, leaving everything he knew behind that allowed him to grow spiritually. Much like the campers who have left a world comfortable to them, the camp provides a journey to grow.
For Celina Jensen, her interests in computers and essential oils are a very real part of her future goals. “She knows computers and she believes in what essential oils have to offer,” said her mother. Camp K has provided her with the ability to foster growth within herself.•
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Christine Redman-Waldeyer is a poet and Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Passaic County Community College in New Jersey. She has published three poetry collections, Frame by Frame, Gravel, and Eve Asks (all with Muse-Pie Press) and has appeared in Schuylkill Valley Journal, The Texas Review, Verse Wisconsin, and others. Christine earned her Doctorate of Letters from Drew University and is a doctoral candidate in Rowan University’s Ed.D program in higher education.
